by Adam Moon
Kara bit her lower lip and said, “I’m pretty sure I figured out which world is home but there’s only one way to find out. Are we ready to go?”
Neil looked down at Kim and said, “Do you want to come with me or go back to your mother?” He dearly hoped she’d opt to stay with him, despite the dangers of interdimensional travel. It was a selfish wish but his heart ached for more time with her. He consciously kept the tears from welling up as he waited for her answer.
She smiled. “I’d rather travel with you some more. This is scary but it’s fun.”
His heart fluttered.
She added, “Plus, mom doesn’t expect me back for another few days, and I doubt she’ll notice even if I come back late.”
That saddened him to hear but it meant they had more time together. “Good, then it’s settled. We’ll jump dimensions for awhile.”
“Awesome!”
Kara held the device in her left hand and brought her right palm down on the button. They vanished.
Ambush
✨
JACK AND STACEY hugged each other when they saw the familiar sights of their home world outside the broken windows. Jack said cheerfully to the room, “Look us up when you get back. I’d love to hear about all the trouble you get in.”
Neil nodded, with the knowledge that he’d probably never even attempt to look them up. They were strangers to him.
Kim gave them a weak smile as they walked through the doors. The moment they did, they were blown to bits by what looked like laser beams that made awful crackle sounds like fat frying in a pan.
Kara screamed and Jim said, “It’s the dog men! They were waiting for us to come back.”
With her index finger, Kara dragged the last entry into the rectangular box on the screen and hit the button before the dog men had a chance to disable the device.
They vanished, leaving the evaporated bodies of Jack and Stacey behind.
It had come as a total shock to them so no one knew how to react.
Sandy was shaking when she said, “That means we can never return or they’ll kill us next. We’re stuck.”
Kara shook her head and then said hopefully, “I was thinking, we could try and move away from the diner before we jump back home. Maybe if we move a mile away, we’ll arrive a mile away from where the ambush is waiting for us.”
They all mulled it over but it didn’t hold water. Neil said, “If it was that easy, the Morians wouldn’t be waiting for us at that exact spot. If we try it your way and you’re wrong, we’ll fall into their tap again, right where they’re waiting for us.”
“You’re probably right. There must be another way to get home safely, though.”
They were now effectively banished from their home world. Everything they’d done was to return home and now that wasn’t even a possibility. They each came to terms with it in their own way.
Finally, when the mood became too dark, Neil said, “Let’s jump again to a different world, just in case they have a way to track us. They’ve found us before. Then we can figure out what to do next.”
Kara said, “You’re right. I’ll jump to the world we lost Larry on.”
Jim asked, “Is that still on the agenda? Now that we know we can’t return home, I thought we’d take a minute to come up with a new plan.”
Neil agreed with Kara. “We need to move on and since fetching Larry was already on our list of things to do, I say we do it. In the mean time, we can try and come up with another solution to our predicament.” He didn’t know if there was an alternate solution but he knew they couldn’t dwell too long because the dog men might track them down.
Sandy nodded and said aloud, “I wonder if he ever found his daughter.”
“I hope so but if he didn’t I bet we’ll be a welcome sight.”
Their feigned enthusiasm about the upcoming mission was necessary so that they didn’t talk about what had just happened. Hope had been stolen from them in the blink of an eye.
Larry
✨
KARA PULLED UP the coordinates and entered them. She hit the button and they vanished again. They appeared on the familiar, rule-governed planet they knew Larry now inhabited. The road outside was quieter than before and the skies were clear. Neil took a peek through the door to be sure the dog men weren’t waiting to ambush them. “It’s all clear. Does anyone know where we should start looking?”
Sandy rubbed her chin. “We need to make sure to avoid bumping into anyone. Remember how ridiculous these people are with their rules and regulations.”
Neil nodded absently.
She continued, “If Larry’s daughter died young then she would’ve been living with him at the time. If this place is like our world I should be able to find his house. Hopefully he’s still there.”
“Okay. We need to travel as a group in case we need to make a quick getaway so take anything you can’t live without like water and food, and of course, the device and fuses.”
Steve pocketed the box with the fuses and handed out all of the remaining water bottles. Food in the kitchen had grown scarce so he didn’t bother looking for it. With any luck, they’d all make it back to the diner anyway.
With that done they trekked out into the world.
As they walked, Jim said huffily, “I’d ask if anyone wants to say a prayer for the recently departed but I have a feeling you’ve all grown comfortable with the deaths of those around you.”
Neil sucked air between his teeth. He wasn’t really sure yet how to deal with Jim or Pam. They were nice people but hardly the right travel companions when the chips were down.
Sandy broke the silence with, “You got that right, buddy. The longer we mourn the dead the more chance the dog men have of catching up with us. We need to move forward, not back.”
“That’s a hell of a thing to say considering we’re back on this world to find someone we lost.”
“The rules change for the living. But if you want to have a moment of silence for the dearly departed, I could sure use a break from your constant yapping.”
Jim scowled at her but he got the point. They were on a mission and he was selfishly floundering in the past because he couldn’t come to terms with all of the recent deaths. His mood was hampered by the fact that his world was now completely out of reach. They were stranded in the multiverse.
Kara put her arm around him and said, “She’s just being a bitch, dad. Ignore her. I’ll pray with you if you want.”
Sandy sighed and said, “I’m sorry. I suppose I am being a bit bitchy. I’m tired and hungry, and I keep forgetting that everyone else is too. It’s not every day you find out you’ll never see your world again. Sorry.”
Jim whispered to Kara, “You’re ten times the person I ever was. Jumping between dimensions scares the hell out of me and your mom but you’ve taken to it like a duck to water.”
Neil interrupted them. “Keep an eye out for weapons while we’re here. I’d like to give those dog men a surprise the next time we cross paths.”
Neil put his arm around Sandy’s shoulder as they walked. He wasn’t sure how she’d respond to it but she needed to be comforted and he assumed it was the right thing to do. He was glad when she didn’t flinch from him.
The traffic that had looked so familiar from within the diner the last time they were on this world was anything but familiar upon closer inspection. The cars were more rounded, like bubbles on wheels. And the roads weren’t covered in a layer of tarmac like they were used to seeing. They were bare cement. Luckily none of the natives gave them more than a passing glance as they followed Sandy.
A plane flew overhead, too close to the ground. Jim said excitedly, “That plane has four tires on it. I think it’
s a flying car.”
Kara huffed, “That sucks. Why does this world get flying cars but ours doesn’t?” Then she added, “But if this world is so different from ours then Larry’s house might not be where Sandy thinks it is. In fact, the other version of Larry might not have even existed on this world.”
Sandy nodded. “It’s still worth checking out. If Larry is here then I bet he didn’t have any luck finding his daughter. I can’t stand the thought of him being so alone in such a foreign place.”
“I know but it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Pam said, “Hey, my cell phone’s got bars. Does anyone have Larry’s number?”
Kara said, “It’ll be a damn miracle if our phones work here.”
Sandy turned her phone on and scrolled through it to try and find Larry’s number. “I got it.”
Kara smirked. “Why do you have his number?”
Sandy rolled her eyes but she smiled. “He’s not my type.” She checked her own bars and sure enough, she had a strong signal. She dialed the number but it was immediately evident that it didn’t work. “Our phones won’t work here, even with the bars.”
“It was worth a shot.”
They followed the main road for half a mile and then headed west along a dirt road. “This road is paved on our world and it has a name too, but at least it’s right where I thought it would be.”
They walked up the driveway of a yellow house and Sandy knocked on the front door. To their utter surprise Larry answered it. He was smiling ear to ear as he hugged them each in turn. “Why did you come back here? Where are the others?”
“We came back to see if you wanted to come with us. We thought you might want to get out of here. The others died. Jack and Stacey were killed by the dog men just an hour ago. Valerie was killed by a flying robot thing. Henry was shot with a poisoned dart.”
Larry’s mouth fell open. “It sounds like I made the right choice to stay here. Come in.”
“We can’t stay long. The dog men are on our tail.”
“I want you to meet someone.”
“Did you find your daughter?”
“In a way, yes I did.”
“What does that mean?”
“The alternate Larry from this world died two years ago but he had a daughter.”
“Oh my God!”
“No, it’s not the same daughter I lost. This girl is a year younger than mine would have been and her hair is brown instead of blond. But technically, she’s mine. The Larry on this world didn’t conceive when I did. He did it a year later.”
A lively brunette was washing dishes in the kitchen sink when they all walked in. She turned and her mouth fell open in exactly the same way her father’s had.
She said jovially, “I’ll assume you’re all travelers from another dimension. At least now I know this guy,” she pointed to Larry, “isn’t some sort of scam artist.” She pointed to Jim’s clothes and said, “On this world you’d never get away with wearing an outfit like that.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Nothing. But it’s not a good day to wear red and your shirt isn’t tucked in. Plus, none of you have your patches.”
Kara sneered. “This world and its rules make me sick.”
“You’d be surprised how easy it is to obey them, though.”
“You shouldn’t have to.”
“I’m sure your world has some stupid rules too. But I bet they don’t bother you because you just obey them without giving them much thought.”
Kara shrugged. “You’re right. You’d probably think some of our rules are idiotic too.”
“Probably.” She dried her hands off and introduced herself as Amy. Then she said, “You must be hungry,” and several of them moaned out of pure desire.
She opened the fridge and pulled out cheeses and meats and bread. She placed a knife and cutting board down beside them and said, “Help yourselves. When you’re done you should really think about taking showers too. No offense, but you’re stinking up my place.”
Neil liked her already, especially when she handed him a beer. She watched the group eat. “I hear I’m dead in your universe. My dad is dead in this one. Are you here looking for loved ones too?”
“No, we came back for your dad. Now that we see that his mission was a success, I bet he doesn’t want to come with us.”
Larry asked, “What’s it like out there? Did you get the device working again? Did you find home?”
“The device is working but those dog men are waiting to ambush us at home so we can’t go back.”
“Well then this rescue mission seems sort of worthless,” he said smiling.
“I know that but we thought you might be in trouble here. The offer still stands: if you want to travel with us, you can.”
Larry looked at his daughter and said to her, “If you stay, I’d like to stay too. But if you want to see what interdimensional travel feels like, we could go together.”
Jim interrupted. “If you’re coming, then come. But we’re not here to take you on an adventure and then return you.”
“I see.”
Amy ran her tongue across the front of her teeth, the same way Larry sometimes did. “I might be interested in coming with you, if that’s alright. It’s not every day you get the chance to travel between universes.”
Neil took Larry aside and said, “It’s dangerous out there, man. If you found your daughter, and you’re both safe here, you should count your lucky stars and stay.”
Larry looked deep into Neil’s eyes. “I can see that the travels have changed you. You look more intense than I remember.”
“We’ve been through a lot.”
Larry cocked his head to the side as he stared at Neil. “You’ve changed more than the others.”
“I’ve been sort of the de facto leader lately.”
“Maybe that’s it.” He said, “Let me talk it out with Amy. You have to understand something about our situation: I got a daughter I didn’t even know I had but she got her dad back. According to her, I’m exactly like the father she lost. It wasn’t what I had I mind when I came looking for my daughter but it’s enough. If she wants to go, I’ll go too.”
“I understand.”
“But if I choose to stay you can take my gun.”
“Gun?”
“You’re quite forgetful, aren’t you? I had the only gun when I left you.”
“Of course. It feels like that happened ages ago.”
Larry whispered into his ear, “Is there anything else you need me to remind you of?”
Neil squinted at him. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Larry chuckled. “I’m here if you need me. I understand what you’re going through, completely.”
Neil grimaced and walked away, making a mental note to avoid conversation with Larry for awhile. He draped his arm over Kim’s shoulder and listened while Amy described the world they were in. It wasn’t so different from theirs, but it was different.
The ladies took turns showering and the men went next. Larry gave the men changes of clothes that had belonged to the dead version of himself. He made sure to omit the red clothes. Red was offensive today for some reason but no one cared to ask why. They were tight on Jim and Steve. The women got Amy’s clothes. Sandy was too big for them so she wore her oversized pajama bottoms with a loose t-shirt. They loaded their clothes into Amy’s washing machine and ate again. Steve had more than his fair share of the beers but no one held it against him; everyone copes in different ways.
The clothes went into the drier and Larry and his almost-daughter talked about what they wanted to do. Larry said that he would do wh
atever she decided. She tried to defer back to him.
In the end, Neil asked them the question that helped them make up their minds. “Are you happy here?”
“Yes.”
“Then why leave?”
Amy shrugged and Larry seemed to relax. “Will you come back to visit us from time to time?”
“You know I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”
Steve said aloud, “I might stay here. I’m a lowly line cook back home and now the diner is ruined so even if everything works out perfectly and we find a way home, I’ll be unemployed. It can’t be much worse here.”
Sandy was surprised by her half brother’s decision. She said, “We’re going to snatch that wild woman, Samantha, when we’re done here. I thought you’d want to join us considering what she did to you.”
“You should leave her. She doesn’t want to be found.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No. I think I’ll stay.”
Sandy opened her mouth to protest but then she closed it again. Steve was her half sibling, but they’d never been very close. She protected him and defended him when necessary, but the truth of the matter was that she barely knew him anymore. If he stayed, it would hurt, but she’d get over it and so would he.
Steve looked at Larry and asked, “Can I stay here until I get on my feet?”
Larry looked at Amy and she sighed. “You can stay in the spare room until you get a job. You don’t have a National Identification card like we use here so you won’t be able to get legitimate work but there are plenty of under the table jobs out there if you’re willing to get your hands dirty.”